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Co cooose wants me"

"Mrs Who?"

She tried another one "Lord Akeldaifts"

"Has he, indeed?"

That was a na that had happened recently--the fact that Sophronia had kidnapped a train and scared off a duke But he was no fool Only a cautious olf could have survived so long a loner and sit in the queen’s shadow "It’s a fair offer But you understand our deal will stand whetherin Sophronia’s chest Hope and fear and horror, but mostly hope "I understand Soap’s survival is not a matter of your ability It is ato risk his life and your future on such a small chance?"

Soap was li out of time

Sophronia took a breath, face still tingling with the strain "I am"

The dewan nodded, decided "Very well, then, I will try It would be better, ladies, if you were not present This is not a pretty undertaking Captain, if you would?"

Captain Niall li up, one under each ar Bumbersnoot under her own arm in a similar manner

Captain Niall deposited theh away so they could not turn to see what happened, but not so far that they could not hear

It was not a pleasant syroans, crunches and slurps, moans and cracks Soap made barely any noise, too weak There was no doubt he would have screamed if he could Sophronia kneas painful Captain Niall said it hurt every ti It was an aay to die, trying for i was sick all over the rail This was a little startling, because she was the only one to have seen or heard such a thing before Captain Niall held her steady and soothed her softly Perhaps that was the proble And Soap was her friend, too Sophronia tried not to think about it

Sophronia only sat, shaking Had she daruesome death, alone at the jaws of a beast? Had she ht to make such a choice for him at all? Even if he had claimed that this hat he wanted She had sworn she wouldn’t help, and now she’dDi her futilely on one shoulder, telling her over and over again that it would be all right Everything would turn out for the best, in the end

Eventually, the sounds stopped and the quiet of night descended and there was nothing but stillness

SESSION 16: THE PARTING OF THE WAYS

He will have to stay withform

There was blood smeared about the dewan’sfutilely to wipe it off with a rag It helped to think that he was a very sloppy eater and they had just finished a toht--a Soap course!

She was sitting with Soap’s head in her lap It , particularly in public--although after everything that had happened, what did Sophronia care two figs for that anymore?--except that Soap’s head was that of a wolf So was the rest of him His fur was very thick and coarse and pitch black, like the coal for his beloved boilers He’ll never float again, thought Sophronia He lay in the deep sleep of an exhausted puppy, but his wounds were healing Right before Sophronia’s eyes the bullet wound was closing and new fur growing over it And his savaged neck, a gift froether like cloth under the invisible hand of an expert seamstress The dewan had explained that newly made olves stayed in wolf forht Soap had better do so, anyway, to accelerate his healing